Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)
VERONA, Wis. – The Edgewood College baseball team regained some of its missing offense, but they still couldn't match Concordia University Chicago's run production in a pair of setbacks, 17-11 and 14-11 on Friday evening at Stampfl Field. The Cougars blasted five home runs and piled up 32 hits in claiming a key NAC sweep.
Things started well for the Eagles in game one. Starting pitchers Matt Kudlik of Concordia Chicago and Nathan Marlowe of Edgewood College combined to retire 17 of the first 18 batters of the game. The Eagles broke through with a two-run home run to right center field for senior Cory McCullick in the bottom of the third inning, scoring Steve Binder who laced a two-out single up the middle.
A three-run double by Ryan Schwartz put the Cougars back on top 4-2 in the fourth inning, but the Eagles answered with six big runs in the bottom of the inning. Andrew King, who had five RBIs for the day, picked up two with a single to right field to spark the rally.
The Eagles still held a 9-6 lead after five innings, when the Cougar bats really came to life. Three straight singles set the stage for Dan Linsner's grand slam home run which gave the Cougars a 10-9 lead. Concordia Chicago would tack on three more runs in the inning and never trail again in the game.
King ended the game going 4-for-5 with a double and a pair of runs batted in. McCullick and Matt Werner each had two hits and two runs batted in as well. Seth Astroth also had an RBI double in the eighth inning. Marlowe took the loss for the Eagles falling to 4-2 on the season.
If game one started as a trickle, game two was a first inning waterfall. Brandon Isaac hit a three-run homer in the top of the first as the Cougars plated five runs. However, the Eagles pushed across seven in the bottom of the inning for a 7-5 lead. Jimy Landwehr had a two-run single and later scored on a wild pitch. King knocked a run with a single and McCullick drove in two runs with a double to complete the scoring.
Earlier in the inning, McCullick made Edgewood College history. After reaching on a leadoff single, McCullick stole second and then third base. Those two stolen bases gave McCullick 70 for his career, which tied and then broke the Edgewood College all-time record for stolen bases, previously held by current assistant coach Karl Reynolds who played from 2005 to 2008.
Concordia Chicago tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth inning and the two teams traded runs in the sixth. The Eagles nearly took the lead in the sixth when McCullick was caught off second base with two outs. Mitch Mogensen attempted to race home from third base, but Cougar first baseman Phil Seris was able to tag out McCullick just before Mogensen crossed the plate with the would-be go ahead run.
The Cougars then added five runs on four hits in the top of the seventh inning, only see the Eagles trim the lead to 13-11 in the bottom of the frame on a bases loaded walk for Mogensen and a two-run single for King. The Cougars added an insurance run in the eighth and a pair of double plays in the Eagle half of the eighth and ninth inning sealed their fate.
McCullick had three hits and two runs batted in to go with his two record-breaking stolen bases. King had two singles and three RBIs to cap an outstanding night. Kyle Lode recovered well from a rough first inning, striking out six hitters, but still took the loss, his first of the year.
The Eagles, losers of seven of their last nine games, have an uphill road to the NAC Tournament now. That road begins on Sunday at Rockford College with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader. The Eagles return home for their Stampfl Field finale on Tuesday with a doubleheader against Dominican University. Those games can be heard live on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.
